protection duties on the farms of Switzerland. While not without those multi-tasking instincts, Axel easily adapted to city-life as a confident, gregarious ambassador of the breed. Axel also happens to be a handsome young dog who finished his championship owner-handled at ten months of age. In December 2004, Axel and Kristin moved to two acres in rural Redding, CT. While Axel is destined to return to the show ring, in the meantime he is honing his natural instincts - by herding his cats, Lola and Squeak, pulling Kristin on long walks in the woods, and protecting his yard from those scary deer.

On February 1, 2004, a Greater Swiss Mountain Dog of noble lineage (CH. Derby's Xcalibur Tug O' War x CH. Rina's Crowned Queen v. Derby) was born in the heartland. At the same time, in a faraway place called New York, a woman was desperately searching for a "Swissy" puppy. With a little networking and a lot of luck, Kristin came to find this prince of a pup whom she would name Axel. At the tender age of 9 weeks and not so tender size of 23 pounds, Axel flew with Kristin to his new home in Brooklyn. Greater Swiss Mountain Dogs were developed long ago as an all-purpose dog and tasked  with drafting,  herding and general